Time Must Have a Stop
On November 25th, 1915, Albert Einstein presented his general theory of relativity, which was published on December 2nd. To mark these dates, we are highlighting stories from The Economist's archive showing how the theory, and the man behind it, were received. Here, we make a rather oblique mention of his passing.
A SCIENTIFIC congress has been scheduled for July in Berne to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the special theory of relativity. At this congress, physicists will show how this theory opened the new kingdoms of atomic and sub-nuclear science; astronomers will describe how it explained the motions of Mercury and how it carried the awed mind to the curving limits of the universe; philosophers will acknowledge, with rueful gratitude, that special relativity forced them back into the very beginnings of metaphysics and let the darkness in where space and time had held comfortable sway.
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